Deadline: 6 September 2017
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) is seeking applications for its UK-Colombia programme in sustainable tropical agricultural systems supported by the Newton-Caldas Fund.
The call will be managed as a two-stage process with the first stage being awards for pump-priming proposals. Applications to the pump-priming stage will be developed and assessed at the Project Scoping Workshop. Attendance at this workshop is a requirement for leading an application. The second stage of funding (opening in 2018) will build on successful pump-primed projects.
Programme Aims
The specific aims of the UK-CIAT Sustainable Tropical Agricultural Systems Programme are to:
- Fund high quality development-relevant research focussed on the resilience and sustainability of tropical agricultural systems containing pulses and/or tropical forages, which will contribute to the sustainable economic development and welfare of Colombia and wider.
- Forge mutually-beneficial partnerships between researchers in the UK and CIAT on pulse and/or forage-based tropical agricultural systems that contribute to food security through international collaboration in agricultural research for development.
- Support truly interdisciplinary projects combining at least two of the biological, environmental, and economic and social sciences.
Funding Information
The UK funders have up to £2.9 million available for this call and have allocated up to £900,000 for the first stage to support eligible UK participation.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applications are invited from individual researchers who can contribute to the project scoping workshop and the resulting research projects. Up to 40 participants in total (around 20 from the UK and 20 from CIAT) will be identified to take part. Participants will be chosen to allow equal representation from the UK and CIAT, and an appropriate balance between disciplines.
- Expressions of interest are invited from UK academics eligible to receive funding as Principal Investigator from BBSRC, ESRC or NERC.
- Projects funded under the Sustainable Tropical Agricultural Systems Programme must:
- fit the remit of the call, and address at least one of the research areas outlined above. Proposals which address more than one of these research areas will be particularly encouraged
- focus on, or be applicable to, tropical agricultural systems containing pulses and/or forages that are relevant to, and part of, the livelihood of communities in Colombia
- contribute to improving food security through delivering greater resilience and sustainability for crops grown in Colombia
- involve a bilateral UK-CIAT team and demonstrate a true collaboration and partnership between eligible researchers at UK based research organisation(s) and CIAT
- be genuinely interdisciplinary in nature, combining at least two of the biological, environmental and, and economic social sciences.
How to Apply
Applications must be submit their Expression of interest (EOIs) via email at the address given on the website.
For more information, please visit this link.